Friday, October 23, 2009

I was checking out a blog yesterday by Chris, A Deliberate Life.What she wrote (here) made me stop and think. Sometimes just hearing a thing worded differently can make it come alive.Chriswas talking about TODAY, this day, being the day we need to focus on, and give it our 100% effort, because every day is like Day 1. Each day is new, each day counts, each is like the day we started, and just as important.WE CAN'T COAST.

I know for me it is a dangerous mentality to slip into...just a short "break"...I just want to "relax" a day or two, then I will get strict again, it's a holiday, a special day....Yeah, right, famous last words!!

For years I have heard sayings like:

One day at a time...

Today is the first day of the rest of your life...

Yesterday is gone, tomorrow hasn't come, all we have is today...

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift, that's why it is called the present.

I hear them so often, I DON'T hear them any longer.

In the background, as I type this, I just overheard a line delivered by Robin Williams in the movie "The Dead Poets Society" (excellent, highly recommend). He was telling his students: we must always look at things in a different way.

Interesting...that is what happened to me when I visited Chris at A Deliberate Life. It was the WAY she phrased it that made me stop and think...and ask myself if I REALLY give my all each day.

Do I REALLY give 100% each day?

Do I REALLY do my best each day?

I am not talking perfection, just giving my best to this journey on a consistent basis, day in, day out.

I also follow Sean Andersons blog, The Daily Diary of a Winning Loser.He is on about Day 404 now, and has been consistent in his nutritional plan. He has EARNED that weight loss of around 221 lbs, because he CONSISTENTLY gave it 100% each day on his nutrition plan. He has had to adjust his exercise schedule according to time constraints for a short time, but as far as the old eating habits that got him up to 505 lbs in the first place: on plan each and every day, as though that day were the ONLY day, the most important day.

I compare this habit of neglecting to give 100% each day to a WEED, and I want to pull it up by the roots and get it OUT of my life. I make all kinds of excuses for getting "a little" lax now and then. Tired...sick...got the blahs...too busy...I could fill a page! But the only problem is...making little exceptions "now and then" somehow turns into "occasionally", which morphs into "often", which will destroy my journey if not nipped in the bud!! It might work for some people, but right now, for me, it is just too dangerous!

Yesterday on our 32nd Wedding Anniversary that I WAS tempted to "make an exception", and relax for the day so we could do like we have done for 32 years...enjoy a scrumptious big meal complete with a huge dessert. I am happy to report that we did NOT celebrate by pigging out! We agreed on Mexican food, which he loves, and we brought it home so I could "be picky". I re-wrapped my carne asada burrito in a low carb wrap, added extra veggies, skipped the rice n beans, etc etc. It was guilt-free and lovely! And we skipped the humongously fattening Marie Callendar pie (I used to eat most of the left-overs by myself) and I had low carb ice cream instead. Since I don't handle sugar well, this was a great dessert for me, and I was perfectly satisfied.

In 32 years, this was a first...so I am feeling pretty spunky about it! LOL!

From Dr Phil's book: "Get off your duff and get moving."

My verse for today: "Should not a people inquire of their God?"

My quote for today: "Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you. Today was good, today was fun. Tomorrow is another one."--Dr Seuss

Permission & Copyright

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.What this means in a nutshell:If you'd like to use something you findhere for Non-commercial purposes,it will most likely be okay, as long as you don't change it,and give proper credit and a link-back.For details, please read the above Creative Commons page.Thank you for your honesty and courtesy! :-)